


Place Your Bets

by stalrua



Series: Tumblr Drabbles [7]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 12:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16640105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stalrua/pseuds/stalrua
Summary: Levi massaged his forehead. Of course everything would go wrong at the end of the night. Because who wanted to have their strangest passenger also be their last?For the prompt: Uber AU





	Place Your Bets

**Author's Note:**

> *aggressively tries to keep this “drabble” under 3k words and fails miserably*
> 
> Anon, I tried to incorporate as much of your request as possible, but I had to leave a few things out to keep it from spiraling out of control. I hope you like it anyway! <3 Our boys get wet and almost naked, so it can’t be too bad, right?
> 
> Also fair disclosure… I’ve never used Uber in my life, so if I botched anything it’s because youtube and google steered me wrong!

Levi pulled up in front of a sprawling, two-story rock house.  A lamppost marked the beginning of a sidewalk that led to an elaborate wood door illuminated by a pair of porch lights, above which hung the Greek letters for Sigma Pi.  Most of the windows were dark, but a tripartite set in the center of the house flickered with blue light.

At least someone was still awake.  His passengers were going to need help making it to their beds.  If they could manage the curving sidewalk and set of stairs up to the front door, that was.  Not that it mattered to him.  Once they shut the door, his obligation was officially over.

Levi gave a two-fingered salute to the group of guys as they clambered out of the car, then leaned back against the headrest, enjoying the blissful silence that, unfortunately, didn’t last long.  The guys were still stumbling towards the front door, most of them completely missing the sidewalk and leaving haphazard trails through the snow-dusted lawn instead, when Levi’s phone dinged.  Leaning forward, he tapped the notification.

His attention flicked between the details of the potential ride and one of the guys who’d now collapsed into a line of bushes decorating the frat house.  A couple of his friends were uselessly tugging at his arms while another kicked his foot.  Judging from the guy’s limp form, he wouldn’t be waking up any time soon.

Levi typed out a quick message that he was on his way, then shifted the car into gear – his normally pristine Tesla that now smelled like the _back alley of a god damn bar_ – and cruised down the street.  His next pickup wasn’t too far away, although the destination was another story.  Pausing at a stop sign, he pinched the screen to display more of the map and saw that the coordinates led to…

That couldn’t be right.

His next passenger was either high as a kite or had taken a page out of the last group’s book and had a little too much fun without being able to hold their liquor.  Levi turned the final corner, headlights catching on a lone guy sitting on the curb who smiled when he spotted the Uber sticker on the side of the car and lifted a hand.  Or maybe he was just shit with technology.

Rolling down the window, Levi eyed the kid who’d jumped to his feet.  “Are you Eren?”

“Only if you’re Levi.”

“Hop in,” Levi said, jerking his chin towards the backseat.

Eren shrugged off a backpack and tossed it onto the seat before crawling into the car.  “Man, I love when drivers text their name ahead of time.  It makes things less weird.  I don’t feel like some random stranger getting into your car.”

“Except we’ve never met before,” Levi said as he peeked at the rearview mirror.  In the backseat, Eren had unzipped his backpack and was rummaging through the contents.  “So you _are_ a random stranger getting into my car.”

Eren paused.  “I suppose that’s fair enough.”

“Hm.”  Straightening in his seat, Levi reached for the phone mounted to the dash.  “Before we get started, I— what is that?”

The faint glow of the radio reflected on a handful of foil-wrapped packages, one of which Eren held up so it could be better seen in the mirror.  “Tacos.  Do you want one?”

“No.  Absolutely not.  And there’s no way you’re eating in my car.”  He could practically see the greasy sheen near one of the folded ends.  That would be a bitch and a half to get out of the upholstery if it dripped.  But his rating was on the line, not to mention tips, so it was on the tail end of a deep sigh that Levi ground out a reluctant, “Please.”

“Not a problem.  Here, let me just…”  Eren unceremoniously dumped the tacos back into his backpack and scrubbed his hands down his jeans.  “I’ve always got food on me.  Midnight munchies, you know?  But the tacos can wait.  Just let me know if you change your mind.  I’ve got plenty.”

Levi’s nose scrunched up, but he tried to come across at least marginally less disgusted than he felt.  “Thanks, but I never eat in the car.”  Not that Eren seemed to care.  He was preoccupied with pushing his backpack out of the way to peer at the floorboard.

“Nothing wrong with that.  You like to keep your stuff looking nice, avoid accidents.  I get it,” Eren said.  “That’s why I almost hate to tell you that one of your earlier rides must have stepped in dog shit because it’s all over your floor.”

Levi whipped around so quickly his neck popped, but it was hard to see anything more than vague shadows in the darkness.  He blindly groped overhead until he found the interior light, switched it on, and shoved Eren’s knee out of the way.  And there it was, revealed in all its awful glory: dog shit smeared over most of the floorboard.

How could that much shit even stick to someone’s shoe?  And how could someone even make that much of a mess without fucking tap dancing in the backseat? 

“At least it’s not cat shit,” Eren said, trying to be optimistic.  “That stuff reeks on a whole different level.  Not that this is a bouquet of roses, mind you.”  He pointed to the air fresheners clipped to the vents.  “But I guess you couldn’t tell because those bad boys were masking the worst of it.”

The dull throb of a headache was starting to come on.  “Just…”  Levi pressed a thumb and finger to his temples, closing his eyes.  “Get in the front seat before you accidentally step in it and make it worse.”

“I don’t know if I could make it—”

“ _Now_.”

“You got it!”

Levi continued to massage his forehead while Eren kicked open the door, jogged around the car, and got into the front seat.  Of course everything would go wrong at the end of the night.  Because who wanted to clean up dog shit at three in the morning?  Or have their strangest passenger also be their last?

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road,” Eren said brightly.  The sound of the door shutting was followed by the quick click of the seatbelt.  “I’m ready when you are.”

Inhaling deeply, Levi touched the phone screen to brighten the picture.  There was still one problem.  “As I was trying to say earlier, there’s something wrong with your destination.”

Eren cocked his head, confused, and repeated slowly, “Something…”

“Wrong, yes.  The coordinates you uploaded lead nowhere.”

Levi withdrew his hand so Eren could turn the phone his way.  He studied the map for a minute, adjusted it a bit, then smiled.  “Nope, those are right.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Improbable is more like it,” Eren corrected, turning the phone back.  “You good with going that far?”

Disregarding the question, Levi fixed him with a blank stare.  “You’re telling me you want to be dropped off in the middle of a bridge on some county road outside of the city at three in the morning?”

“That’s right!”

“And none of this seems… odd to you?”

Eren continued to grin, seemingly unfazed by Levi’s reservations.  “I’m not planning on leading you somewhere secluded so I can knock you out and steal all your stuff, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Tch,” Levi scoffed.  “As if you could.”

“Don’t worry, this is all just part of a bet.  Sort of an ongoing competition with my coworker,” Eren explained.  “He dared me to jump off this bridge when the temperature got into the forties, and I dared him to ski down one of the slopes at Breckenridge with only a sock on his dick.”

Levi couldn’t help but snort.  “Was the bet who could get hypothermia first?”  Skiing all but naked in the snow sounded miserable.  The guy better have a small sock.

“Two hundred bucks, actually.”  Eren waggled his brows.  “Not too shabby, right?  All I have to do is record it and send my video before Jean can send his.”

Levi took a second to consider his passenger.  He’d always prided himself on being a good judge of character, and Eren didn’t give off any strange vibes.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  He had a face too open and honest to be trouble.  Probably couldn’t lie to save his life.  He wasn’t bad to look at either, not that that had any bearing on him as a person.  It was just an observation, a simple fact like that he was tall and lean, had hair pulled back into a low bun, an engaging smile, expressive eyes, a surprisingly well-muscled torso visible when his undershirt rode up as he struggled out of his sweatshirt, _Jesus Christ_ —

Levi’s eyes snapped up to find Eren already watching him, that easygoing smile exchanged for something a little more knowing.  When he winked, Levi stiffened and faced forward sharply, heat bleeding from his cheeks down to his neck.

Maybe he _was_ in trouble.

“So what do you say?” Eren asked, graciously ignoring the moment and sparing Levi further embarrassment.  “You game for helping me win some money tonight?”

Levi weighed his options, then threw his hands up in defeat.  “It’s way too late for this bullshit, but you know what?  I don’t care anymore.  Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

Stopping the car, Levi sat back and looked at the large lake rolling out around them.  “For a while I thought you might be shitting me, but we really are in the middle of a fucking bridge in the middle of fucking nowhere,” he said, somewhat surprised.

“Technically, there’s a crazy small town over that way where I grew up, but yeah, it definitely has that secluded feel.”  Eren fished a cell phone from his pocket and held it out.  “Okay, here goes.  Do you mind doing the honors?”

Levi took the device.  “I’ve come this far.”  They rounded the front of the car, headlights casting their shadows down the pavement, and Levi glanced over the guardrail to the water reflecting silver in the moonlight below.  “You sure this is safe?” he asked.

“Absolutely.  My friends and I used to do this all the time, and only one of us ever died.”  Eren laughed at Levi’s shocked expression.  “Just kidding!  But seriously, it’ll be fine.  No one’s ever gotten hurt.”

Opening the camera app, Levi hit the record button.  “Say hello,” he instructed.

Eren flashed a cocky grin and raised a middle finger with one hand while tugging off his shoes with the other.  “Hey, horse face!  Beat you to it this time.  Better be ready to pay up when you get back.”  Then, not wasting any time, he braced a foot on the guardrail and vaulted over the side with a wild yell.

Levi leaned on one of the wooden posts to capture the entire ordeal: the windmilling arms to keep himself upright, the resounding splash, the ripples where he’d entered.  The kid was crazy, that’s for sure.

A cute crazy.

A free spirit crazy.

A… not surfacing crazy.

Panic began to curl in Levi’s gut, slippery and unsettling.  Why hadn’t Eren come up yet?  Maybe there was debris beneath the water.  What if he’d hit his head?  What if he’d gotten tangled up in something and was drowning?  What if—

Levi kicked off his shoes and tossed aside his jacket.

_God damn it._

Jumping really wasn’t that bad.  Neither was the fall.  But the water…

As soon as he went under, the frigid water sucked the air right from his lungs.  He fought the instinct to surface in favor of sweeping his arms in a wide circle.  It was too dark to see anything, but he hoped to come across Eren by accident.  However, it wasn’t long before his lungs began to burn in warning.  He bobbed up, gasped in a quick breath… and coughed when he came face to face with a stunned Eren.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Furious, Levi slicked the hair out of his face and lunged forward to grab a fistful of Eren’s shirt.  “What the fuck am _I_ doing?  What the fuck are _you_ doing?”

“Jumping off a bridge, obviously.”  Eren tried to pull away, but Levi only tightened his hold.  His expression must have been worse than he thought, because Eren’s brows knit worriedly as he layered one hand over Levi’s.  “Did I miss something?  I mean, we talked about this beforehand.  I don’t know why you’re so mad.  And why the hell did you jump in after me?  It’s not like…” he trailed off suddenly, comprehension dawning.  “Wait, you didn’t think I was…”

“Well, I didn’t think you’d suddenly sprouted gills, you moron.”

Teeth already starting to chatter, Levi swam back towards the bridge, dragging Eren along with him so they could climb onto one of the concrete pillars jutting out of the water.  The bridge had been renovated at some point, but the original wooden infrastructure remained.  Aesthetic, maybe.  Or nostalgia.  Small towns liked that sort of thing.

Levi eyed the wood supports critically.  Thankfully, the bridge wasn’t too tall, but it was still going to be a hard climb.  Good exercise for warming up their bodies, not so good to do so on bare feet.  He regretted leaving his shoes behind now, even if they would’ve been a hindrance while swimming.  Actually, he was regretting jumping in after the idiot at all, but that was beside the point.

“I was trying to touch the bottom.  That’s why I didn’t come up right away.  I didn’t mean to scare you,” Eren said meekly from behind him.  He sidled closer, so close Levi could feel his wet shirt brush his arm.  “I can’t believe you tried to save me.”

“You’re not the only one.  Although, I’m kind of second guessing that decision right about now.”  A light breeze sifted beneath the bridge, and Levi clenched his teeth until the worst of the shudders passed.  “Fuck, it’s cold,” he grumbled.  “You should strip.”

“Here?” teased Eren.  “This is a poor place for a show.  Terrible lighting.  Not to mention all my music to set the mood is—”

“So we don’t get _sick_ ,” Levi clarified, rolling his eyes.  “We need to get out of these wet clothes so we don’t get sick.”  He pushed Eren aside, ignoring the way he placed a hand on his chest with a wounded expression.

“And here I thought you just wanted to see me naked.”

Despite Eren’s theatrics, they both made quick work of their clothes, and Levi patted himself on the back for his resolve, only sneaking a peek when Eren bent over to shuck off his jeans.  In all honesty, though, the cold air made for a good distraction.  It wasn’t much better standing around in wet boxers, but at least the rest of their clothes weren’t leeching away what little body heat they had left anymore.

Levi exhaled into his hands, rubbed them together, and decided to take the lead.  It was slow-going – his muscles were tense, hands and feet borderline numb – but he’d been right.  Climbing did help warm him up, even if he suffered a splinter here and there for it.  And for all the hard work, it was strangely calming.  There was something therapeutic about concentrating so intently on one thing.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a great ass?”

Levi stopped mid-reach for the next beam to rest his head against his forearm.  Speaking of concentrating.  “Focus, Eren.”

“I am.  This is actually a really good angle to—”

“On climbing.”

“Fine,” Eren sighed dramatically.  But they hadn’t made much progress before he was speaking up again.  “You should know that I’ve never been on a date this adventurous before.”

Shaking his head, Levi hefted himself onto one of the crossbeams and took a break, giving Eren the chance to catch up.  “With lines like that, I’m surprised you’ve been on any dates at all,” he retorted.

They were nearly at the top now, and the height provided an impressive vantage point.  Levi hooked an arm around another support and stared out over the lake.  The moon had begun to creep beneath the tree line, and pinpricks of stars winked from the inky darkness left behind.  It had been a long time since he’d been able to see the sky so clearly.

“And I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t a date,” Levi added.  “It’s a job.”

“You sure?”  Eren crawled onto the beam and mirrored Levi’s pose.  “It kind of feels like a date.  Just a little.  Scenic drive, swimming in the moonlight… and there aren’t many jobs where you lose your clothes as fast as we did,” he snickered breathlessly, winded from the climb.  “But if this doesn’t count as a date, imagine how exciting our first real date will be.”

Levi’s gaze flicked over to meet Eren’s cheeky grin, and he cocked a brow.  “You’re really going to do this?  Right now?”

“Might as well,” said Eren, unabashed.  “What else do I have to lose?”

Eren calmly resumed climbing, and Levi was treated to an eyeful of those long, lean muscles in motion.  He closed his eyes for a second, inhaling deeply to regain some semblance of control.  However, when he opened them again and reached for the next beam, he saw Eren right above him, and how about that… it really was a good angle to admire someone’s ass.

Fucking hell.

Yes, he was definitely in trouble. 

 

* * *

 

Before long they were back in the car.  Levi cupped his hands over the vents while Eren pulled all manner of things from his backpack.  There was a towel, some hopelessly tangled earbuds, a pair of boxers, a shirt so wrinkled it looked like it had been in there for years, the handful of greasy tacos, a pair of sweatpants, a paperback copy of _War and Peace_ , and three socks.

Levi blinked at the strange collection.  “You live out of that thing or what?”

“No, just prepared,” Eren chuckled as he stuffed away the unnecessary items.  “I know drunks can be crazy, but you have to admit, this has been the most interesting ride you’ve ever given.”

“That's one way to put it,” Levi deadpanned.

It wasn’t often that he’d gone home dressed only in boxers.  Probably not since college.  Never after work.  Hopefully no one would be awake in his apartment building yet.  It would be like doing the walk of shame, just without the post-sex satisfaction that made it somewhat worth the embarrassment.

“Here.”  Eren tossed the sweatpants into his lap.  “You can wear those.  The shirt, too, if you want.”

Gingerly holding up the clothes, Levi scanned them for grease stains.  “How about I just take you home and we call it a night?”  It was well past four by now, and crawling into bed sounded awfully nice.

Eren toweled off his hair.  “I was thinking more along the lines of me buying you breakfast and getting to know you a bit first, but if you want to skip right to the good stuff, I won’t complain.”

“That isn’t— I did _not_ mean it that way,” Levi insisted.  When Eren only issued an amused snort, he glanced over suspiciously.  “You know, you haven’t exactly been subtle, but you weren’t nearly this forward earlier.”

“Probably because you weren’t nearly this naked earlier.”

Their eyes briefly met, and Eren gave him a suggestive smirk before leaning forward to pull on the socks.  Levi watched him all the while, mentally berating himself once he realized his attention had drifted to the winged tattoo that spanned the graceful curve of Eren’s back.  There was no doubt in his mind Eren knew exactly what he was doing.  Smooth fucker.

“How about it?” Eren asked.  “There’s a twenty-four hour diner not far from here with the worst coffee you’ll ever taste, but they make a killer omelet.  And if you’re worried about our clothes, don’t be.  You take the shirt and pants, and since I can still wear my sweatshirt, I’ll take the boxers and socks.  Trust me, a guy without pants is far from the worst thing that diner’s seen.”

Levi scratched idly at his undercut.

He was functioning on little sleep, he was sore from both climbing the bridge and being tense from the cold, and his Tesla’s battery was starting to run low.  But he couldn’t deny the intrigue.  Eren was attractive and honest and had been winding him up with those fucking bedroom eyes for the past hour.  Plus, he genuinely seemed like someone Levi would like to get to know.

“Okay.”

Even in the darkness of the car, Eren’s eyes lit up.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Levi confirmed as he slipped the shirt over his head and maneuvered into the sweatpants.

“Cool.”  Eren’s casual tone was completely at odds with the way his fingers started to drum the center console excitedly.  “Just don’t think you get a free peep show when I change my boxers.”

“And what makes you think I want to see your dick?”

Eren threw his head back and laughed.  “Act smooth all you want, but we both know you’re dying for a show.  Two hundred bucks says that, by the end of breakfast, you’ll be the one asking _me_ out on another date.”

Maybe it was stupid.  Maybe all of this would just be a colossal waste of time.  Maybe they’d get breakfast and go their separate ways, or maybe they’d end up going back to Levi’s place like Eren had suggested.  Or maybe Levi _would_ ask him out again.  Who knew?  Not knowing was half the fun, though.

“Alright, then.”  Levi’s mouth quirked.  “You’re on.”


End file.
